Let's play doctor doctor

An Indian take on a French satire, the English play Imaginary Invalid shows how a hypochondriac father tries to get his daughter married to a doctor to feed off his phobia

Be it France or Chennai doctors are the same everywhere. And if they decide to be manipulative, the society gives them reason enough more than anyone else. An adaptation of the French play Le Malade Imaginaire by famous playwright Jean-Baptiste Poquelin more commonly known as Moliere, this production draws a parallel between medical practitioners in Madras in the 70's and 17th century France. The play, which is a humorous take on medicine as a profession attacks the various antics of doctors that affect the society as a whole.

Confiding to us as to why he chose Moliere's script for his debut directorial venture, Nakul P Sangolli, the director of Imaginary Invalid says, "The timelessness of the theme, the possibilities of interpretations and the hilarious approach taken by the playwright, struck a chord with me."

Unlike the original script, which was set in 1673 Paris during the reign of King Louis XIV, the English adaptation is based in a Christian household in 1970s Madras. The story revolves around a hypochondriac father, who wants to get his daughter married to a doctor to take care of his medical bills. Adding to the mix is his second wife, who wants the daughter to become a nun so that she can grab her husband's property. Anthony finally finds a doctor groom for the daughter but the question remains whether she really wants this. Many twists and turns follow only to reveal how lust pushes love and human emotions to a backseat. A satire on medical professionals, it shows how not time but social situations shape a profession and people who pursue it.

Explaining the relevance of this kind of deceit and exploitation even today, Sangolli who is part of a theatre company called Cult Entertainment, says, "The play makes it a point to bring across the diversity of India by creating the characters from different Indian backgrounds. This we felt would appeal to our audience and help them relate better to the play."

u00a0In fact, the Indianisation of the script will grab your attention. Instead of making these characters utter lines in fake western accent, Sangolli has cleverly used English and other South Indian languages in the script helping the audience relate and react to the plot better. Ridiculing institutions to organised religion, Imaginary Invalid is a hilarious portrayal of doctors and their methods of exploitation. Interestingly, the play does not narrow down to only poking fun but it also gives a socio-economic context to the narrative offering reasons for the existence of these greed-infested doctors.

At Alliance Francaise, Vasanthnagar
On September 4, 7 pm
Call 98800 36611
For Rs 150